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Last night was fairly anti-climactic. Despite all the talk about trading top picks and players on the move, there were only three non-Vancouver trades last night, and only one involving players. Florida kept the top pick, the Isles kept the 5th pick, and only a pair of teams traded up (Chicago, Isles). The draft was made a bit interesting, at least from a local point of view, when the Isles traded up to get pick #28 from Tampa Bay. That pick was originally the Rangers pick, but was dealt to Tampa Bay in the Martin St. Louis draft.

Only one of our reviewed prospects was taken last night (Travis Sanheim), so there are still a lot of solid prospects available for the Rangers to pick at #59. We will be live-blogging rounds 2-7 this morning, and the action begins at 10am on the NHL Network.

10:19: Washington traded up to get the #39 pick from Buffalo, giving up #44 and #74.

10:30: Predators traded pick #46 to San Jose for pick #51 and a 5th rounder in 2015.

10:36: Vancouver traded the #50 pick to LA for Linden Vey.

10:45: Rangers select Brandon Halverson, a goalie out of Sault Ste Marie in the OHL with pick #59. Halverson had a 2.96 GAA and a .904 SV% with SSM last season, his rookie year.

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Original Post: Day One of the 2014 NHL Draft is upon us. We will be live-blogging the event, and will be updating this post with all big news from around the league. The first big deal was made this afternoon, when Ryan Kesler was sent to Anaheim. The Canucks also dumped defenseman Jason Garrison’s contract, sending him to Tampa Bay. The Rangers also sent Derek Dorsett to Vancouver for a third round pick (#85).

As for the Rangers, they may stay quiet. Gordie Clark said that the Rangers likely won’t trade into the first round. That doesn’t mean that they will be entirely quiet tonight (despite the Dorsett trade), as they have the negotiating rights to Anton Stralman, Benoit Pouliot, and Brian Boyle. I’m not saying they will be traded to recoup draft picks, but it wouldn’t surprise me if, at the very least, teams aren’t kicking tires on Stralman and Boyle.

7:19: Despite the rumors, Florida does not trade the first overall pick. They select Aaron Ekblad after some funny stalling from the Panthers.

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As the draft approaches tonight, Andrew Gross spoke with Gordie Clark to discuss the prospects, and any chances that the Rangers would move into the first round. Clark noted that it is unlikely that the Rangers move into the first round, citing the lack of depth in this year’s draft as one of the main reasons. Clark expects that only the top 15 picks will be impact players. Clark also said that the Rangers will use the “best player available” approach instead of drafting towards a need.

The 2014 NHL Draft is just hours away, and the Rangers will draft in the second round with the 59th overall pick in the draft. The Rangers traded their first rounder this year in the Martin St. Louis trade, so this will mark the second straight year without a pick in the first round.

De Leo

Chase De Leo

Position: C Height: 5-8 Weight: 175

De Leo broke out in his sophomore campaign with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL, putting up a great line of 39-42-81 in 72 games. Like most small forwards with offensive upside, De Leo is a quick skater that plays a creative offensive game. His hands are very quick, and he is very strong with the puck, allowing him to continue rushes into the offensive zone. He has a great hockey IQ, which helps in his positioning in both zones, making him not just an offensive threat, but a solid two-way player. But like all small forwards, his size and strength are a concern. He will need to build solid core and leg strength to be as effective as the Marty St. Louis’ or the Mats Zuccarello’s.

The draft is almost upon us, and the Rangers could land in the second round with the 59th overall pick in the draft. The Rangers traded their first rounder this year in the Martin St. Louis trade, so this will mark the second straight year without a pick in the first round.

Bunting (Photo: Terry Wilson/OHL Images)

Michael Bunting

Position: LW Height: 5-11 Weight: 175

Bunting is a bit of a late bloomer, but put up solid numbers (15-27-42 in 48 GP) in his rookie year in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. His strong rookie campaign moved him up to #37 North American in the ISS rankings. He seems to be a mid-round pick for the Rangers, but his stock is rising. Bunting is a solid forechecker, and uses his physical to force turnovers and begin a transition rush. The odd weakness he has, considering his size, is that he needs to work on his skating, specifically his speed. He could turn into a solid depth player, one who would probably be loved in New York for his work ethic.

The draft is almost upon us, and we must apologize for the lack of draftee reviews this year. The run to the Stanley Cup Final threw off our offseason plans, and we have a lot of topics to cover in a short amount of time. This will be the first of three posts previewing some prospects the Rangers could land in the second round with the 59th overall pick in the draft. The Rangers traded their first rounder this year in the Martin St. Louis trade, so this will mark the second straight year without a pick in the first round.

Connor Chatham

Connor Chatham

Position: RW Height: 6-1 Weight: 225

Chatham is an interesting prospect, as he dropped from #30 in the midterm rankings to #46 by the time these rankings came out. It’s possible he might drop even further to the Rangers at #59, Chatham is currently with the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL, where he just finished his rookie year with a line of 13-18-31 in 54 games. Chatham’s fall in the rankings has to do with his lack of production in the first half of the season, putting up just five goals in 33 games. He’s a big kid that knows how to use his body, as his physical game was still there during the slump. It’s worth noting that his skating ability is pretty good for a kid his size, but his quickness needs to be worked on. He has a decent head on his shoulders, making safe passes instead of homerun passes. He’s also not really a “sniper” per-say, but he will go to the net and look for garbage goals.

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Dave
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Comments Off on Rangers with four draft picks this year

The Rangers will have four picks in the coming draft, with one pick each in the second (#59), third (#89), fourth (#119), and fifth (#122) rounds. Here’s a breakdown of how each pick was acquired/moved:

This will be the second of three straight years the Rangers do not have a first round pick after ten straight seasons picking in the first round. The 2013 pick was sent to Columbus in the Rick Nash trade, and the 2014/2015 picks were sent to Tampa for MSL.

Adam Tambellini was the Rangers first pick of the day (Garrett James, Surrey NOW).

The Rangers were relatively quiet on draft day. After making the decision to hold on to Brad Richards, a quiet day for the Rangers was expected, since they have little room to maneuver under the $64.3 million cap. Despite a quiet day, the Rangers lucked out in the third round, as two highly skilled players fell to them due to various reasons.

The first trade of draft day was actually made by the Rangers, when they sent RFA forward Benn Ferriero and a 2014 6th round pick to Minnesota for defenseman Justin Falk (Note: Not Justin Faulk from Carolina). This move addressed the Rangers need for defensive depth while giving up very little of actual value. The Rangers have a logjam of AAAA guys, and while he does have value, the Rangers needed to address their depth issues on the blue line.

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It’s shaping up to be a crazy day around the NHL. The Rangers don’t have first- or second-round picks thanks to trades for Rick Nash and Ryane Clowe, but they do hold three picks in the third round (#65, #75 and #80 overall). It’s quite possible that New York will attempt to package a couple of those picks to move up into the second round, but don’t hold your breath on the Blueshirts getting into the first.

The rumor mill is really churning today, too. Already New York has dealt Benn Ferriero and a 2014 sixth-round pick to Minnesota for D Justin Falk, but there could be more moves ahead. Given New York’s cap issues, don’t expect them to be in on the big fish. But there sure are a lot of big names being discussed, including: Tyler Seguin, Cory Schneider, Evander Kane, Alex Edler, Tyler Myers, Kris Letang, Tomas Fleischmann, David Perron, Dave Bolland, Braydon Coburn, Cal Clutterbuck and seemingly dozens of others.

Teams have three minutes to make each selection and also have five, five-minute timeouts throughout the day. Unless the Rangers move up, they probably won’t be picking until late this evening, but we’ll be with you every step of the way.